Marriage in peril books are some of my favorites so I was particularly excited to see my favorite author duos take on the trope.

Sweet sweet Graham had a heart of gold that I wanted to wrap up and protect always. He always felt like he wasn't good enough for incredible Eliza and had some self-esteem issues. It was interesting to see how his personal perception of himself contributed in allowing complacency and routine to outweigh romance and emotion in the marriage. I just really loved him.

Eliza had a lot of feelings that were so incredibly relatable I almost felt like I was reading about me. She often felt like she had to hide parts of herself and or block out certain emotions to avoid the nasty parts of life. And I love that these thoughts and emotions were explored. As well as some possible effects that they have on a marriage.

I loved David as a side character. I didn't expect to get much out of the side characters, but I'm glad he ended up being developed more than I thought. It was a pleasant surprise.

There was a little something missing from this book. I wasn't quite able to put my finger on it, but there was just a little substance of some sort missing from this book to boost it to excellent status rather than very good. Overall, however, I really enjoyed this book and am feeling motivated to read the other adult romance this duo has released.

I flew through this book and loved it!

Eliza and Graham are approaching their five year wedding anniversary but feel like they’ve been more distant than ever. To help mend their relationship they start a flirtatious game of pretend on a retreat where no one else knows them. Can this help them find their way back to the couple they used to be?

I love a romance where there is great banter, flirting and chemistry and this one had it!! Plus, the added element of a marriage in crisis gave the story an emotional layer that’s realistic (I think) for all readers in some capacity. I also enjoyed the short chapters alternating between Eliza and Graham’s perspectives as it allowed me to better understanding how they were both feeling and what they were struggling with at the moment. If you were not a fan of The Roughest Draft, I would 100% still give this book a chance!! While the writing style is the same the themes are different, making it feel like a completely different read. Also, while I primarily read this book, I tried a few chapters on audio and Brittany Pressley and Dan Bittner did an amazing job!

Read if you like:
-Marriage in crisis
-Second chance romance
-Couple events
-Dual POVs

Thank you Berkley and PRH Audio for the ARC/ALC. Pub date Jan 24th!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really liked this! It was the perfect read while I was stuck in bed with the flu. This was a wonderful escapist romance with real depth.

<i>Before I start……</I>
Alright… if a marriage really feels so distant that you have to pretend to not know each other just so that you can have an actual conversation… might I recommend therapy or counseling? It’s not a bad thing to process through your emotions and behaviors with an unbiased professional who’s there to help. A marriage is worth that. And maybe a hug would help too?

<b>The goods:</b>
I’ve read so many books with the one hotel room trope, but this is the first where the couple gets booked into two rooms. This was a great way to bring in their game of pretending to meet for the first time. Sometimes space can be really helpful.

A lil twist on second chance romance since the relationship wasn’t really gone in the first place

DAVID. what a cutie pie! We need more good bro friends like him who are open, honest, kind, and sweet. And he’s a kindergarten teacher, stopppppp so cuteeeee!

This book really made me appreciate my husband. He’s so sweet and open with how he’s feeling, unlike Graham who bottles up his insecurities


<b>The minor bads that were more just annoyances:</b>
There are too many—of these. It’s somewhat—annoying. Just—express your thoughts and say what you need to say.

I feel like this could’ve used one more round of edits. There were a lot of repetitive sentences and the same thing was explained multiple times. We get it: Graham uses courtroom logic to banter with Eliza. Because he’s a lawyer. And lawyers use logic in the courtroom. Let’s move on here.

I thought this was such a refreshing take on a love story. I find myself a lot of times questioning whether characters in romance books would stay in love, so I love this concept of refalling in love because it feels like the perfect combination of realistic but also fun and fresh. Overall I adored Graham and Eliza and think that every couple should have a weekend refresh to reinvent their story. Overall I read this in one sitting and really enjoyed.

Do I Know You?
by Emily Wibberley; Austin Siegemund-Broka

My first book by this talented husband/wife writing team is "Do I Know You"? The story opens with Eliza and Graham enduring an emotionally painful hours long journey with...horrors of horrors...each other! Graham's parents gifted them a luxurious stay at a coastal resort, to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. Their once love filled relationship has devolved into what seems to be a living situation of friends who barely tolerate each other. If this marriage is going anywhere, it seems it's a downhill trip all the way.

For all his good looks and success in other areas of his life, lawyer Graham's self esteem seems at it's lowest when he compares himself to his beautiful wife. Eliza, an audiobook narrator and voice over actor, gets so much more from her job than from her almost dead marriage to Graham. It seems that any effort Eliza puts into conversation with Graham bores or angers him. What in the world will they figure out to do at a luxurious resort on their fifth wedding anniversary? It seems a miserable week for the two of them is in their near future.

A stranger introducing Graham and Eliza to each other, because he thinks they are single, sparks an idea. Why not pretend to NOT know each other, to be people they are not, to meet each other for the first time, to let go of all the bad chemistry the last years have infused into their marriage. They will be free to reinvent themselves and this brand new coming together. Why not role play some fun into a marriage that is on its last legs? Why not find a way to enjoy this week that otherwise will be a miserable slog of marital non-bliss.

And so it goes. Graham and Eliza really do love each other but they somehow lost their way to each other. If ever a couple could benefit from marriage counseling it would be these two but no, that'd be too practical and too easy (or actually, too hard). They both have trouble communicating with each other and one of them has trouble communicating overall. It is fun watching how they beat themselves up in their own headspace but actually seem so attractive to their spouse when seen from a distance. There are some really nice side characters in this story, wanting the best for the couple, if only the couple can pull themselves together as a couple.

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

I love this author duo's adult works sooo much more than their YA books. I think this demographic and genre fits them and their writing so much better. The chemistry between the Eliza and Graham was amazing. The banter was so good and I just loved the whole concept of this book. It was a really interesting take on the second-chance romance trope.
It also had its angsty and emotional moments as the reader gets a raw look at a struggling marriage. This was so good on so many different levels!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

#DoIKnowYou #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

I loved The Roughest Draft, and while I did enjoy this book, it didn’t have the same impact for me as RTD. It was lovely to see a story about a married couple who are clearly still very much in love and desperate to work things out. But the conflicts in the book, both between Eliza and her sister and the inner ones in Eliza and Graham that lead to the discord in their marriage, were difficult to understand. I think it would have helped to see some of their marriage before this point to truly understand what the issues are and how they got to this point.

Oh I really enjoyed this read! It’s actually the first book I’ve read by this duo! I just downloaded The Roughest Draft to read this week!

I think I really enjoyed this idea of being in a marital rut and trying to spice things up by being strangers. At times, I felt the couple went a bit far, but other times I really found myself wondering, can this work?

The two were able to wear a mask at times and also shed their everyday masks and reveal what they’ve been feeling all along.

I look forward to reading other books by these two! Something about the book reminded me of Shipped by Angie Hockman.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for granting my access to this ARC and to PRH Audio for granting me access to the audiobook!

wibbroka just KNOWS how to craft a good story. they know how to create complex and earnest and flawed characters. this book made me cry. every book i have read by them has been fantastic, i'm obsessed with them. i love the way they put words together to create sentences. i can't wait to see what else they do in the adult romance genre. i'm in love.

thank you to berkley publishing group and emily wibberley and austin siegemund-broka for my review copy <3

I love this author duo, they create such realistic, relatable characters. I always feel like the romances are real and could have happened in real life, and this one is no exception. Raw , real and beautiful is the best way to describe this one. It definitely had its funny and entertaining moments as well, making it the perfect romcom

The magnificent Wibbroka duo is back with a second chance romance and a couple making a last ditch effort to save their marriage. By pretending to be strangers, Graham and Eliza are hoping they can find their way back to the couple they used to be. With the tension of The Roughest Draft, Do I Know You is another winner from this duo!

Thank you to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Eliza and Graham are celebrating their 5-year anniversary on a weeklong getaway at a romantic resort. However, they are feeling distant and questioning the future of their marriage. They are accidentally mistaken for strangers and decide to play along. This turns into flirting and pretending to get to know each other through made up personalities.
I’ve heard of couples role-playing as strangers for an evening to change things up, but would never have imagined a week of pretending to the extent that Eliza and Graham do this. I wasn’t really sure how the book would progress and it kept me curious about how Eliza and Graham would get through it. This book took me on a rollercoaster. There are moments of heartbreak, humor, adventure, romance…it’s an amazing journey in this one week of vacation. Do I Know You? is a story that really digs deep into the ups and downs of a relationship.

As someone who has been married for almost 20 years, I know that there is no such thing as a perfect marriage. I’ve learned a lot about my husband and myself in the years since we tied the knot and I know that we will continue to change and discover new things about each other as we grow old together. Emily and Austin’s book does an amazing job of capturing this essential concept of marriage. Wether or not you are in a relationship, I think any reader will enjoy this book because it is written wonderfully. I raved about the writing in The Roughest Draft and I feel the same about Do I Know You? Emily & Austin write together so smoothly and beautifully. They know how to write in a way that pulls at the reader’s emotions and encaptures them into a fictional story. I will read anything they write and can’t wait to buy the physical book to add to my shelf.

Thanks to @berkleyromance for the free digital ARC.

Much thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary audio copy of this book and Berkley Romance for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was a little nervous going into this after hating these author's last adult romance, The roughest draft. Thankfully this marriage in trouble, second chance story didn't disappoint! I loved Eliza and Graham who are on their five year wedding anniversary trip trying to reconnect.

Eliza is an audiobook narrator and Graham is a lawyer and both are feeling lost in their marriage. I found their situation so relatable and thought the authors did a good job showing just how easy it is for a couple's relationship to break down from complacency and lack of communication.

Throw in some 'fake dating' and complicated family relationships and this book had a lot of depth that kept me interested throughout. Great on audio narrated by one of my favs Brittany Pressley and Dan Bittner. Would definitely recommend this one, especially for fans of Emily Henry.

Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegemund-Broka have gotten me out of my romance rut!! This was an excellent take on second chance romance and fake dating. This author duo is also great at a touch of melancholy in their books. I found Graham more lovable than Eliza but they were both such a delight and their personal growth was really fun to experience as well.

This is the first book I have read from these authors after hearing a lot of good things about their books. It was a very good, solid romance and one I am sure many readers will really love. I enjoyed the concept and execution (mostly) but I’ve grown bored of straight romances most of the time. That’s not the authors’ fault, just my preference

Do I Know You? is a heartfelt, sweet story of a married couple finding their way back to each other. Graham and Eliza are on their way to a resort to celebrate their 5 year wedding anniversary, but despite the love they clearly have for each other, there are cracks in their relationship neither can ignore. When a booking mishap means they have two rooms in their name, Eliza and Graham hatch a plan to stay in separate rooms and role play as strangers meeting for the first time in order to re-date each other during their vacation.

This book pulled at my heartstrings in a way few second chance romances have before. From page one it’s clear that these two love each other, but communication issues and the hustle of every day life have created a gulf between them. There is no dramatic mistake or huge fight - this book showcases how easy it is for couples to grow apart when they forget to foster emotional intimacy. This is really a book about the importance of dating your spouse, and I loved watching these two bring the spark back to their marriage as they started “dating” again.

When I saw that Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka had another novel coming out I jumped on the chance to read and review it. The Roughest Draft was one of my top reads of 2021 when I got the ARC of it last December and I expected big things from their Sophomore debut. And I wasn't disappointed. I think they both do a great job of getting into the psyche of a couple that has been together for so long they cannot just speak what's on their minds. There were many times when I wanted to yell at them both to just "say how you feel" but I know that sometimes the easiest things to do in theory are the hardest to execute. I think any frustrations I had with the book were intentional as they were the same frustrations shared by both protagonists.

When Eliza and Graham get gifted a stay at a resort in California to celebrate their 5 year wedding anniversary they are going into more as two people cohabitating together than husband and wife so when a mistake at check-in leaves them with two rooms Eliza proposes to Graham to take their relationship to the next level, a full 180 to strangers and live out their week in paradise as two people who have just met. Graham thinks this might be the only way to save their marriage. Can these two lovers from being strangers then fall in love again?

Wow! This was not the light romance I was expecting; it's so much more. It's a 2nd chance romance between an already married couple who have drifted away from each other inside their marriage. When Graham's parents send him and Eliza on an elaborate anniversary trip, they end up in separate rooms, deeply aware of the emotional gap between them. Eliza and Graham work through real-world anxieties and problems, which makes it a deeply satisfying read. I even "ugly cried" at a few points, in sympathy with their pain. Over the course of the book, the two have chances to play together, talk, adventure, and re-bond with the help of a new friend who is at the resort to attend a seminar for singles. Will it be enough to save their marriage?

Wow, I absolutely loved Do I Know You?! Eliza and Graham are about to celebrate their 5 year anniversary, only their spark has diminished and while they love each other, they feel like they don’t know each other anymore. But when a hotel guest mistakes they two for being single and introduces them, they decide for this vacation to play as perfect strangers as a way to reconnect again. Right from the start, you can feel the heartbreaking strain of this relationship between two people that’s re desperate to get back to one another. There’s so much uncertainty, tension, and pain in these two and then there is so much hope as these two reconnect. The banter as they adopt these new personas is so witty and fresh. The growth is so lovely and honestly it was so beautifully written. Graham struggles so much with feeling enough for Eliza, and Eliza is so afraid of being hurt—they are two very human and genuine characters and their journey as individuals and a couple is stunning. This book was more than a typical romance—it’s what’s after the sweeping gestures and romantic proposals. It’s real-life problems in a relationship and it just honestly felt important and real. I couldn’t put this book down and couldn’t recommend it more. It is just so good and heartwarming!!